When volcanoes spring to life in Alaska, aviators and residents rely on the Alaska Volcano Observatory for information.

KUCB's Vic Fisher spoke with John Power, the scientist in charge of the AVO, about what the agency's doing to keep up with Pavlof.

Courtesy of Joe Redmon

Fire personnel responded to a small blaze in the valley this afternoon.

Senior fire captain Zac Schasteen says a caller reported that someone started a campfire at the bottom of General's Hill, but failed to properly supervise it.

Clouds blanket Pavlof Volcano on May 21, 2013 / Courtesy of Mitch Johnson

Heavy cloud cover over the Alaska Peninsula is making it tough for scientists to monitor Pavlof Volcano.

The Alaska Volcano Observary hasn't been able to get a clear picture of the peak by satellite for almost two days. Still, there's some indication that the eruption might be easing up a little.

Pavlof Volcano shoots ash on May 16. (Courtesy of Theo Chesley)

Passenger and cargo airlines in southwest Alaska have been watching Pavlof Volcano closely, trying to determine whether it’s safe to fly past the peak.

PenAir restarted service throughout the state today, adding extra flights to Unalaska to relieve a backlog of passengers.

But as KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal reports, the outlook from here on is mixed.

A factory trawler that frequently participates in the Bering Sea pollock fishery caught fire Monday afternoon.

The catcher-processor Arctic Storm was working off the coast of Grays Harbor, Washington, processing Pacific whiting, when a fire started in the engine room.

The Coast Guard sent helicopters and lifeboats to the scene to help evacuate crew. According to the vessel's parent company, Arctic Storm Management Group, none of the 120 people on board were injured. The 334-foot ship is being towed back to port so the owners can assess the damage.

An operator error down at the power plant caused a brief blackout in Unalaska.

Public utilities director Dan Winters says an employee was performing maintenance at about 12:15 p.m. Tuesday. The person tripped the wrong breaker, accidentally turning off a diesel engine in the process.

Winters says there isn’t any backup system for an outage like that. Employees restarted the engine, and then reset the town breakers. The lights were only out for 14 minutes. Most of town was affected, except for the East Point Road neighborhood and the area near the spit dock.

Pipa Escalante/KUCB

Public safety is still investigating the cause of a rapidly-spreading tundra fire that broke out along the S-curves this weekend. 

The Ounalashka Corporation owned the land that caught on fire, just before 5 p.m. Saturday. Despite its proximity to Dutch Harbor post office and Gas 'n' Go, on Airport Beach Road, the blaze didn't jump to any nearby structures.

Ash and rain accumulate on a floatplane in Nelson Lagoon. (Courtesy of Merle Brandell)

Pavlof Volcano isn't showing signs of slowing down. It erupted all through the weekend, though not at levels that disturb international air traffic.

But as KUCB's Lauren Rosenthal reports, the volcano's done enough to stop regional air service to western Alaska. 

After a month-long outage, St. Paul’s federal radio weather service is finally back up and running.

The station broadcasts storm alerts and forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and it’s popular with crab fishermen working off St. Paul and St. George. The signal suddenly dropped out in April as the crab fishery was winding down.